Midnight Ride: A Gates Family Mystery #2 by Catherine Hapka

I love the National Treasure movies. To this day, I'm conviced that's where we came up with the name for our son. I love mysteries, I love the idea of a treasure hunt, and when you put that with history, it makes it all the richer. So when I saw this book at Borders, I scooped it up right away.

It was very enjoyable. Nothing like the movie, mind you. I felt that the treasure hunt went along in the same vein for too long. Hapka could have changed things up a little here and there instead of having the characters find a piece of paper and solve a riddle every single time.

And while I enjoyed the riddles and mystery, the references were difficult enough that I would have had to sit and Google every clue and still would have had trouble figuring out what they meant. I like to be able to solve a little of the puzzle myself. (Perhaps if I'd paid more attention in American History class...instead of wondering how many years it took my teacher to work the groove into the floor where he shuffled his right foot back and forth while lecturing...I would know more of the details.)

All in all, I think this will be a good series, especially for those interested in the movies. I just hope that Hapka gets a little more creative and intricate with the clues and treasures.